


The Birds and the Battlefields

by DrJekyl



Series: Pearl is Not a Punk Rocker (but sometimes, bless her, she tries anyway) [2]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Flashbacks, headcanons abound, pearl also has so much baggage she needs an antonov to carry it, pearl gets a hug, pearl is a card-carrying member of the legion of useless lesbians, sex ed, the diamond authority is horrible
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-15
Updated: 2016-11-15
Packaged: 2018-08-31 04:59:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8565010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrJekyl/pseuds/DrJekyl
Summary: Pearl had thought that asking Greg Universe for advice was difficult enough.  However, it turns out that actually taking it is in an altogether different league.





	

**Author's Note:**

> With thanks to vampirecheetah, who helped me find my funky flow with this one.

“ _Heyyyy_ , Pretty Bird.”

Pearl blushed.  

Pearl blushed _every.  Single.  Time_.  

She’d never really had a nickname before, not unless you counted Amethyst's incessant shortening and/or mangling of her name (and Pearl didn’t) or Homeworld’s (deeply satisfying) _Renegade_ label.  She’d certainly never had one that was spoken in _that_ sultry voice, with _that_ sly smile.  Pearl was increasingly certain that it was some sort of hidden defect in her makeup, to leave her embarrassed so easily, but at the same time was strangely wonderful and she wasn’t at all sure if she would fix it, if she could.  It made her feel like she wanted to retreat back into her gem forever and a day, or burst out into song, regardless of who was there to see.

Bursting into song, though, would probably seem strange, especially with so many humans around.  She had already received a few questioning looks from some of those same humans, frequenting the food and beverage establishment.   Perhaps it was her attire?  Yes, it must be.  Every time she went on one of these 'dates', Amethyst insisted that Pearl wear human clothing help her ‘blend’.  The clothes never felt right - the pants for today were scratchy, and, while she quite liked the blouse and tie ensemble, they would be quite a hindrance in the event of a battle - and she was certain that such unnecessary additions changed the way she moved and carried herself.  But Pearl was forced to concede that Amethyst knew more about humans than she did, and reluctantly accept her advice.  And clothing.

But only after a proper laundering.

“Hello yourself, _Mystery Girl_ ,” Pearl said, and took the seat opposite her in the booth.  

She couldn’t have reined in her grin for all of the stars in the galaxy.

Mystery Girl’s name was actually Sheena, but it had seemed appropriate to give her a nickname in exchange for the one she had gifted Pearl. And, after Amethyst and Steven had described Sheena as such to a delighted Garnet, the name of  _Mystery Girl_ had stuck.  Sheena seemed to like it.  Or at least not mind it.  And she _was_ a mystery, to Pearl, at least.

A fascinating one.

“No kiss?”

Pearl’s blush only intensified at Sheena’s pout.  

A kiss.  It was customary, wasn’t it?  Humans had all sorts of customs around this sort of thing.  It was driving Pearl to distraction trying to learn, remember and apply them all.  The Crystal Gems had more or less just made everything up as they went along.  What felt good, what felt _right_ in the moment.  So different to the stratified, codified worship of your Diamond.

“Was I supposed to?”

Pearl realised how uneducated that sounded the moment it left her lips, and inwardly cringed.

“I mean,” she fumbled, trying to salvage some of her dignity, “it’s not that I don’t like kissing you.  I’m just- If you want a kiss - or expect one as a greeting-”

Sheena’s pout abruptly melted into a laugh loud enough to turn heads their way.  

“ _Damn_ , Pearl," she chuckled.  "You are _adorable_ when you’re flustered.”

“Yes, well.” Pearl looked down to where her hands rested on the table and caught sight of her distorted but distinctly blue-cheeked reflection in the steel utensil holder. “That seems to be happening a lot lately.”

Sheena reached across the table and covered one of Pearl’s hands with her own.  She was smiling when Pearl looked up.  Fond.  Even affectionate.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

Sheena’s thumb stroked the inside of her wrist and whatever retort Pearl might have summoned died there and then.  Sheena winked at her and released her hand in favour of her coffee cup, finishing it with every appearance of enjoyment while Pearl took the opportunity to try to regain some of her fragmented composure.

“So, I _know_ you didn’t ask me here for the coffee,” Sheena said, returning the empty cup to the table.  “Did you have something planned?  Or did you just want to start here and see where the afternoon takes us?”

Oh.  Yes.  The actual reason why Pearl had come here.  Not that she hadn’t _wanted_ to see Sheena again, purely for the sake of spending more time with her, but the conversation with Greg had loomed large in her mind for weeks now.

Nervousness abruptly seized her, drowning the earlier, more pleasant feelings in a wash of dread.  She wished she had something better to do with her hands to hide their sudden fidgeting.

“Actually, I was hoping we could… talk.”

Sheena’s brow quirked.

“Sounds _serious,_ " she said.  "Is this going to be another ‘No, really, I _am_ an alien, look-at-the-spear-I-can- _pull-from-my-forehead’_ talks?  Or something else?”

She seemed amused and curious, but Pearl couldn’t be certain if the apprehension that seemed to underlay it all was real or just Pearl projecting her own.  She’d dreaded this conversation for weeks now, even as she knew that it needed to happen, and soon.  Sheena wanted to introduce Pearl to her friends.  Her decidedly _human_ friends.  And, from what Pearl had observed, introducing one’s romantic affiliation to friendship and familial groups indicated a certain level of commitment.

Perhaps that was why Pearl had found herself so reluctant to introduce Sheena to the rest of the Gems.  It would make it  _real_ , somehow, in a way that it simply wasn’t now.

Which was absolutely _ludicrous_ because the fact that Sheena and Pearl had met and had started dating would be unchanged regardless of whether any of the Gems had shaken Sheena’s hand too.  It would only be easier to pretend that Pearl hadn’t invested so much, and so quickly, in the hope that things _could_ work, at least for a while.

But even there, Pearl was entirely too aware that she’d never been particularly good at hiding her emotions from her friends, to say nothing of the problem of keeping such secrets from a hopeless romantic with future vision.  Garnet, Amethyst and Steven already seemed so strangely (pleasantly) excited on Pearl’s behalf that they had to suspect her level of investment.  The very thought of disappointing them with news of failure made her want to retreat back into her gem.  Or at least put this discussion off for at least another day.

That would be cowardly, though, and Pearl desperately wanted to do this _right_.  Sheena deserved to know what she was getting herself into before she had trouble getting back out again.  And then, _if_ Sheena didn’t do the sensible thing and end things then and there, and _if_ Greg's advice contained any glimmer of truth, she and Sheena needed to talk about what they wanted out of the relationship, how they might be able to make it work.

And then, maybe, with all that behind them, Pearl could introduce her to the others.

Pearl would rather have faced a whole battalion of Jaspers.  She would rather have to look Pink Diamond in the eyes and tell her ‘no more’ for a second time.

_Not anger, but incredulity.  Shock.  Sheer, utter shock._

"What _did you say?”_

 _Pearl flinched and trembled so violently that her form began to distort.  A Diamond had given her an order._ Her _Diamond.  She_ had _to obey.  But she couldn’t.  It wouldn’t be_ right _.  Her eyes flew desperately to Rose-_

“...I’m going to take the long, dreamy silence as a ‘yes’,” Sheena drawled, and Pearl was back, at a table, in a booth, in a cafe, surrounded by humans and all of their noises and smells and strange little inventions.   “I’m down with that.  But we might want to go somewhere a bit more private, huh?”

Sheena was still smiling, but her eyes were concerned and kind.

Pearl nodded and stood.

“Is there somewhere you suggest?”

“My apartment’s just a couple of blocks away.”  There was a hint of hesitation in her voice.  “If you want.”

“I think that would be ideal.”  That hesitation nagged at Pearl, though.  “That is, if you don’t mind me intruding.”

“Oh, no, no, you wouldn’t be intruding!”

Sheena slid out of the booth, though not without some difficulty.  She was very tall and quite broad for a human in Pearl’s experience, especially a female, and the booth was a bit too small for her.  Part of Pearl wondered why Sheena had chosen it, small and cramped and hidden away, as opposed to one of the other seating positions which were much more open and easily accessible, and had the added benefit of being closer to the coffee making apparatus and the humans that operated them.

(Another part of her, one that was _still_ a renegade rebel capable of tearing through towering quartz soldiers and ruby fusions like so much paper, was always pleased to be reminded that, for all of Homeworld’s equating of stature with power, the light and lithe amongst them were not without their own advantages.)

“Very graceful,” Pearl noted.

“We can’t all be ballerinas, Pretty Bird.”

Sheena reached out and took her hand.  It was a contrast of soft palm and calloused fingers, and large enough to easily envelop Pearl’s own hand as they walked towards the exit.  It was warm, too, warmer than Ro-

 _No._  

She forced the thought aside, just as she tried to every time.  No comparisons.  It wouldn’t be fair. It wouldn’t be _right_.  If _this_ , whatever it was, was going to have any chance of working, Pearl knew, with the very seed of her stone, she had to stay focused on what was actually in front of her.  Look forward, even if this afternoon was going to be all about the past.  Rose was gone.  And Rose hadn’t been Pearl’s, not truly, for far longer than she liked to admit.

Having love enough for the entire world only sounded like something wonderful.

Centertown was not a place Pearl would typically choose to visit without a good reason, or, at least, agreeable company.  To be fair, she could say that about most human settlements.  She'd never been able to pin hr dislike down to anything other than the fact that they were simply, when you got right down to it, too, well, too  _human_.  

The town itself was filled with squat, drab buildings made of brick or wood, in a style that Pearl found to be _completely_ lacking in any kind of grace or artistry.  Rather like something a Peridot might design in the name of efficiency, many of them.  There were cables strung hither-thither from wooden poles to carry electricity and primitive telecommunications services into individual homes and businesses, disrupting views of the open, cloudless blue sky.  And far too much of the settlement was given over to the ugly black bitumen roadways and not nearly enough to green trees and plants and open spaces.

But at least it was neat, and, as such places went,  _clean_.  Pearl had actually needed to take a bath when they’d gotten back from Empire City.  Everything there outside of the hotel had been dirty, even the very air itself.   _Stars_ , there’d been _chewing gum_ on the _sidewalks_!

Sometimes Pearl thought that most humans may as well still be wearing animal skins and hitting each other with rocks.  

But the sun was out today, warming her form, and the company was certainly agreeable.  More than.  Enough to quickly forget about the ugliness.  Pearl contented herself in keeping pace with her partner’s long but slow strides down the street, around two corners and into one of the taller, blockier, brickier buildings.  It wasn’t any less blockier or brickier on the inside, where it also suffered from being confined and poorly lit.  Worn timber floorboards creaked under Sheena’s boots as she led the way to an alarmingly rickety-looking stairwell.  Old, as human things went.  The air smelled of dust and damp and crumbling masonry.

Sheena glanced over her shoulder at Pearl as she started up the stairs.  She bore a mischievous grin that made Pearl tingle all over for reasons she couldn’t quite pinpoint.

“You _know_ ,” Sheena said, “I actually thought about inviting you up for ‘coffee’ last time you were here before I remembered.  Guess I don’t need to come up with a better excuse now.”

There was a joke here that Pearl wasn’t getting.  At her expense, but also not?  Sheena found the cultural differences endlessly amusing, even as she often had to explain them.  Was the joke about the ubiquity of the beverage?  That Pearl and Sheena regularly met in stores specialising in it, despite the fact that Pearl wouldn't drink it (or virtually anything else)?

“You don’t need an excuse if you want my company," she began, trying to buy herself some time to solve the puzzle.  "I-”

_\- could spend hours and hours just staring at you.  Watching you sleep.  Memorising every detail of your face, every strand of your hair.  It would never grow boring._

Before she could put voice to the thoughts, Steven’s voice sounded an abrupt warning in her head.

 _Pearl, don’t watch humans while they sleep!  It’s creepy and_ weird _and I thought you’d stopped that._

“- enjoy spending time with you,” she recovered masterfully.  “A great deal.  Though… I have to wonder why would you go out and purchase coffee when you evidently have the facilities to make it in your home...?”

“The atmosphere, mainly,” Sheena said as they rounded the second landing.  “And one of the baristas is this cute little brunette who draws hearts in my latte.  Though, actually, I noticed she’s stopped doing that lately.  You wouldn’t have any idea _why_ , would you?”

Why humans did anything still eluded Pearl more often than not.  Sheena was likely referring to the strange ‘love-heart’ symbol (the one that looked nothing like an actual human heart, Pearl had to point out) some humans used as a designator of affection.  How a dense muscle evolved to pump blood was related to romance-

Sheena was _grinning_ again as she waited for Pearl to join her at the top of the third and final flight.  Grinning in that way that implied future mischief and made Pearl’s cheeks heat.  

Wait, this was, _oh_ , they were meant to be _flirting_.

Pearl stepped up beside her and reset the collar of the borrowed shirt, straightened the tie.  It never hurt to look one's best.  And Sheena seemed to like it when she fussed with her clothing, for some reason.

“Well,” Pearl said, “it’s not necessarily a bad thing to recognise when one is outclassed and outmanoeuvred.”

“ _Really_  outclassed,” Sheena purred in a way that made Pearl wonder if it was possible to blush so hard that her gem spontaneously combusted. “I bet _she_ never saved my planet and my species.  I’m _very_ welcome, by the way.”

During the discussion that Sheena jokingly referred to as the ‘So-I’m-Dating-An-Alien-Talk’, Sheena had asked if she’d meant it, what Pearl had said when they first met. Pearl had replied yes.  That, several thousand years ago, aliens had invaded the planet Earth and would have wiped out humanity if not for the intervention of Rose Quartz and the Crystal Gems.  

It wasn’t a _lie_ , not exactly, but as understatements went it was positively audacious.  It could well feel like a lie to Sheena.  And what would happen then? Would she be upset?  Angry?  Pearl might well be in her shoes.  Secrets hurt, yes, but omissions, when you thought you had the whole of the truth-

Pearl's hands clenched into fists at her sides, seemingly of their own accord, and her knees locked, caught between a desire to continue on as if nothing had happened and a sudden but overwhelming urge to flee.

This would not end well.  

It could not end well.  

But she had to try anyway.  Sheena deserved that much.

She forced her fists to unclench and tried to smile.

“I’m… glad.” she managed.

Sheena gave her an odd look but elected not to press the issue further.  Just as she had taken Pearl’s answer at face value back then.

The silence that followed them down the short, creaking corridor and to an unremarkable wooden door, white paint chipped and scored, felt heavy and uncomfortable. Sheena fumbled with a key and the lock, and the door swung open.  

“Well, as they say: it’s not much, but it’s home.”

Grateful for the new distraction, Pearl followed her inside and surveyed what she could see of the dwelling.

Her first impression was of limited space, and then of more burnt sienna brick, largely exposed but papered over in places with a selection of somewhat battered posters.  Musicians, she thought.  Her second impression was one of _clutter_.  It wasn’t Amethyst levels of untidy, or even Greg untidy, thank the stars, but it certainly sat somewhere around the level of Steven messy.  Some used dishes and takeout containers on the low table between the couch and the television.  An assortment of clothing seemingly dropped at random on the floor.  A haphazard stack of books, magazines and papers on a desk with a primitive computer system, a jacket draped over the chair in front of it.  Two additional doors, one half-open to reveal an unmade bed and more discarded clothes.  

The minor detritus that seemed to go hand in hand with a human life.

Sheena abruptly darted forward and snatched up the dirty dishes on the coffee table that Pearl had been eyeing, kicking what appeared to be a pair of silken shorts she hadn’t even noticed underneath the couch.  The human had been watching her as she’d scanned the room, Pearl realised.  And, watching her sudden flurry of activity, it also dawned on Pearl that Sheena was actually _nervous_.

That was new.  And oddly flattering.

“If I, uh,” the dishes clattered loudly in the sink, and Sheena winced. “If I’d known you were going to end up here, I would’ve cleaned up a bit more.”

Pearl smiled in what she hoped was a reassuring fashion.

“Let me help.”

Sheena protested, of course, but Pearl wouldn’t take no for an answer.  Between the two of them, they made quick work of the dishes, including a few that were already in the sink, and gave the narrow counters a quick scrub down.  The worst of it dealt with, Pearl allowed herself to be directed back to the couch, finding a seat towards the middle of it.  Sheena settled down beside her, comfortably close but not quite touching, her arm draped across the couch's curved and fraying back behind Pearl.

“So,” Sheena said when they were both comfortable, “what’s on your mind?”

And, just like that, looking up into those lovely, sparkling green eyes, Pearl blanked.  Froze, cold dread and something terribly akin to panic washing over her, the feeling of ice and static not at all dissimilar to those times when she’d realised she’d been too badly damaged to maintain her form.

Stars, what had she been _thinking_ ?  Taking advice from _Greg_ , of all people!  She must have taken _complete_ leave of her senses.  And all those scenarios, imagined in the safety and solitude of her room, where the revelations brought them closer together instead of driving them apart were just that: imaginings.  There was simply no way at all that telling Sheena the truth about gem history – about _Pearl’s_ history - could end well.  And Pearl wanted, she _needed_ more time with her.  Just a bit.  A few more happy memories to buffer against the day Sheena found it all to be too much trouble, or simply met someone she found more interesting.  That wouldn't take her long, someone like her.  Pearl needed to be ready.

The decision more or less made itself.

“I-”

**Bing!**

She nearly launched herself off of the sofa when something in the pocket of her borrowed pants buzzed against her hip.  Standing gracelessly, she fumbled and eventually fished out her phone of several months.  And then stared down at the incoming message from Steven.

_Garnet says 2 tell u 2 remMbR who u r <3 <3 <3   _

Pearl slowly sat back down, eyes locked on the screen.

“Everything alright?”

Sometimes future vision truly seemed more a curse than a blessing.

**Bing!**

_also amethyst says u got this & she won't w8 up _   _ <3 <3 <3   _

“Oh, it’s fine.  Just some-”

**Bing!**

_she also said something about going boating. didn’t make much sense tbh <3 <3 <3   _

Pearl sighed.

“- meddling friends.”

**Bing!**

_ <3 <3 <3 and say hi 2 mystery grl 4 me!!  Luv u!!!! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3_

“Oh.  And... Steven says ‘hi’.”

Sheena’s amusement was obvious.

“Those ‘meddling friends’ are the other alien space rocks you live with?”

“ _Crystal Gems_ ,” she corrected shortly, despite being aware she was being teased.  “But, yes, Garnet and Amethyst.  I think _they_ think they’re being helpful.”

Pearl angled the screen so Sheena could see the last few messages and watched, momentarily transfixed, as Sheena’s lips moved soundlessly, translating the coded message.  

“I think I like Amethyst already.”  She snorted with laughter and nudged Pearl’s side with her elbow.  “You really should ask her for some,” another stifled snort, “‘boating’ tips.”

“I’m already quite a proficient sailor, thank you very- That’s not what she meant, is it?”

Sheena shook her head, barely holding in another laugh, and Pearl’s eyes narrowed.

“Care to explain?”

“Nope.” Sheena grinned.  “Ask Amethyst.”

“Is this one of those human things?”

“ _Maaaayyy_ be.”

“This is terribly unfair you know,” Pearl huffed.  “Just because _I_ haven’t been keeping track of changing linguistic fads is no reason to keep me in the dark.”

“Well.”  Sheena shifted closer, hunching down slightly. “ _I_ think it’s terribly unfair how cute you are when you pout, but you don’t hear me complaining.”

Oh, flirting again.  The teasing kind.

“I think that might actually count as complaining,” Pearl pointed out, adopting a deliberately arch tone, “making something of a mockery, might I add, of-”

Sheena’s hand reached out and grabbed Pearl’s tie, tugging it gently but inexorably back and up towards her, and Pearl found herself being thoroughly and pleasantly kissed.   Sheena’s free hand cupped her cheek, large enough to span it entirely, before sliding around to the back of her neck, fingers tangling in her short hair.

Pearl sighed at the sensation and quickly gave into her own urge to touch, to be closer, slipping forward, right into the human’s lap, so she could run her hands over Sheena’s shoulders, down her arms. Pearl could feel the stretch and pull of _muscle_ beneath her hands as Sheena relinquished her hold on the tie in favour of wrapping her arm around Pearl’s waist possessively, pulling them flush together.  There were _layers_ to her body that a gem’s form lacked, beneath her skin, and she radiated a kind of heat that was entirely organic and rather novel.

Her breath hitched when Pearl elected to explore another difference, her ear, and the reaction intrigued Pearl enough to repeat the action on the other.  Sheena pulled away to laugh breathlessly, and then her feet were up on the couch and she was sliding down, back against the armrest until she was near prone, pulling Pearl down atop her as she did.  A firm hand settled in the small of Pearl’s back, the other threading through her hair, and they were kissing again.  

It was nearly overwhelming, the contrast of warm and supple lips with hard metal, the softness of her belly and breasts and the bone lines of her sternum and ribs and clavicles, with the quickening thunder of her heart beneath it, her chest rising and falling with each stolen breath and, _oh_ , if Pearl couldn’t just _melt._

She had missed this.   _Stars,_ but she had _missed_ this.  Not just the kissing element (though she certainly had), but she missed having a warm, soft body to snuggle into, wild silken hair to twine between her fingers.  She missed being able to touch without fear or hesitation, missed _being_ touched, being held with gentleness, as though she were something rare and precious instead of base and dull.

As if reading her thoughts (humans couldn't’ do that, could they?  No, of course they couldn’t), Sheena stopped playing with her hair in favour of caressing her jawline with the backs of her fingers. Pearl couldn’t resist another approving hum at the whisper-light touch, the pleasant tingling sensation it engendered.  Seemingly emboldened, Sheena turned her hand to cup Pearl’s cheek, then to carefully brush her hair back from her brow, and finally, hesitantly, to touch her gem for the first time, fingers feathering against the edge, kissing her all the while. The touch seemed to resonate throughout the rest of Pearl's form, harmonious echoes beneath the illusion of her skin.

A soft, startled sound escaped her lips.

_Yes._

Pearl was no quartz or topaz or corundum, gem all but dulled to touch and able endure all manner of insults without flinching.  Rose had delighted in that discovery, and then delighted Pearl with her application of it.  How many days had they spent-

_No._

So what, if Rose had been the last – the first – to touch her gem in that way?  Sheena was here.  Rose was gone.  And the time when Pearl had been able to pass short eternities snuggled against Rose, all but purring beneath her gentle touch, had been gone for even longer.  Gone sooner than they needed to be, perhaps, but pearl hadn’t been able to stand knowing that the hands touching her touched _Greg_ too, the lips that kissed _her_ kissed _him_ just as sweetly, that her voice, when she spoke to him, dropped into the low, soft, lovely timbre once reserved exclusively for pearl.  It was proof positive that she _wasn’t_ enough for Rose after all, that everything she had done and sacrificed wasn’t enough, she really _was_ just placeholder for someone better, stronger, _whole_ in a way a defective pearl couldn’t be-

Hands flat on Sheena’s shoulders, Pearl pushed away, breaking their embrace.

“Pearl!  Oh god, I’m _so_ sorry."

The room was spinning.  She blinked and tried to focus, finding the here and now.  She found Sheena's eyes open and staring at her, wide with shock and what pearl distantly registered as sudden horror.  Her hands jerked away from pearl as though burnt, cheeks colouring a dark but vivid red.

"I should have asked first!” Sheena continued.  "I'm so sorry.  I _know_ better than that!"

She was distressed.  Why was she distressed?

“Asked what?”

“If I could, you know, touch your gem.  I was curious.  And wasn’t sure if you’d actually be able to feel it. But I should have asked-!”

What?  Oh no.  Sheena thought that- Oh, _shards_ , pearl was just going to ruin this too, wasn’t she?  It wasn’t Sheena’s fault pearl was highly strung.  Clingy.  Jealous.  Defective.

“You didn’t do anything wrong.  I was just… startled,” Pearl managed.  “It’s fine.”

It was true, enough.  She hadn't expected her thoughts to turn so quickly, let alone along such lines.  Her mind always seemed to race and turn inwards and _back_ at the most inappropriate times.

“It’s not fine, Pearl.  You’re _shaking_.”

Looking down at what she could see of her form, Pearl was startled again to realise that this was true, her arms and hands wracked by fine tremors.  She squeezed her eyes shut and willed herself to calm.

“Not from… the act.  Touching my gem.  I mean, my gem is rather sensitive to external stimuli, and I suppose that touching someone’s gem is something of an intimate act, but that’s not the issue.  I just-  I was thinking- I’m sorry if I made you think you'd done something wrong, I- I’m sorry.”

She fell silent rather than babble witlessly any longer, wringing her hands together for what comfort they could provide.  

Sheena did not look reassured.

“Pearl..?”

Remember who you are.  

That was Garnet’s message, however oddly encoded by Steven.  Her advice, with the benefit of foresight.  That meant there was an optimal path, somewhere within Pearl’s reach, if only she could puzzle it out.

Pearl had been so many things in the course of her life she sometimes struggled to keep track of them all.  She’d been a servant and a rebel, a follower and leader, squire and knight, ascetic, hedonist, thief, vagabond, teacher, teammate, caregiver and more.  A partner in both crime and in love, victor and vanquished in that treacherous arena.  But she had no idea who she was now.  What she was meant to be without Rose.  Without even Homeworld’s rules and structures.

She had thought, in the moment she decided that a leather jacket and a teasing smile were worth running a red light for, that she might be ready to start trying to find out.

This was it again, though, wasn’t it?  The red light, only in a different form.  A choice between living dangerously, for herself, or not at all.

Pearl sat back onto her knees and ran a hand through her hair, absently surprised by how dishevelled it felt, and the realisation that she was more or less straddling Sheena’s waist, a configuration she knew was somewhat intimate for humans. Even with the new distance between them, she was still close enough to see the myriad of different greens that made up Sheena’s brilliant irises, her eyes widened with concern, hair wild and wavy and pink again, cascading around her head and down her shoulders.  She hadn’t moved an inch since Pearl had pulled away, leaving her half-supported by the couch’s armrest against her shoulders, one arm dangling off the side to brush the floor, the other gripping the cushioned back it with whitened knuckles.                                 

Pearl closed her eyes and took in a deep breath to steel herself, letting it out again, slowly.  Funny how those occasional affectations became habits after a while, wasn't it?  But it undeniably helped.  And when she opened her eyes again, fixing the firmly on Sheena’s, she had reached another decision. 

The right one.

“Sheena,” she began, “you know that I like you.  A great deal.  Certainly more than any other human I’ve met.”

Beneath her, Sheena went utterly still, not even breathing.

“I like you too, Pretty Bird,” she said after a beat and a steeling breath out of her own.  “And I like what we have so far.  Thinking about you keeps me up at night.  So I really have to hope that this isn’t your way of trying to break things off with me.”

“Break things off?”  Pearl blinked, and nearly laughed for the irony.  “Oh, no!  No.  I... like what we have so far too.  And I… I would like to keep exploring it.  I suppose you could say that I, er, enjoy _solving mysteries_.”

She tried for a smile and was relieved when it seemed to work.  Sheena’s head tipped back against the armrest, so she was looking at the ceiling.

“Hah! Oh, thank fuck,” she breathed.  Tipping her head back down again, Sheena smiled at Pearl, lopsided and relieved.  “You had me worried there. I thought I'd just fucked it up.”

Pearl didn’t have the heart to comment on her language.  Instead, she reached out and took Sheena’s hand on the backrest, pulling it to her and enfolding it within both of her hands.  Pearl could _feel_ some more of the tension leave the human’s body, and more when she gently squeezed Sheena’s hand.

“I’m sorry,” Pearl said sincerely.  “I didn’t mean to make you worry.  I’m afraid that I’m not very good at this sort of thing.”

“It’s ok.  I just didn’t want to have to tell my mom I’d broken up with my girlfriend two days after she found out I had one.”

That caught Pearl by surprise, enough to temporarily derail her train of thought.

“You told your mother about me?”

Sheena shrugged, still smiling.

“Just that you exist.  That I’m seeing someone.  She doesn’t need all the, uh, exact details yet.”

And that seemed like as good an opening as any.  Pearl took the plunge.

“I see.  Well.  I suppose that some of those ‘exact details’ are what I wanted to talk to you about today.  There are things that you need to know about me.  And about gems, in general.  And these things may change how willing _you_ are to continue any form of a relationship with _me_.  While, obviously, I hope that’s not the case-“

“Pearl, I get that you’re an alien, and that you’re a _lot_ older than you look. And, honestly, yeah, that’s all pretty out there, and all, and honestly even a bit scary.  But it’s also really damn _cool_. And kinda sexy.  Like you.”

Irritation abruptly seized Pearl, overriding any pleasure from the obvious compliments.  She had agonised over her choice of words for _weeks_ in dread of this conversation.  She’d even rehearsed, to her own reflection, in her room’s pools and in front of Steven’s bathroom mirror, trying to get her tone and her expression just right.

She straightened her back to gain a bit of additional height and looked down at the human.  More than a touch of exasperation coloured her voice.

“Please, Sheena, this is _important_!  I’ve only ever known of one relationship between a gem and a human that lasted for any real length of time.  They loved each other a great deal, but their relationship was not without its problems, and I’m still not entirely sure it was good for either of them in the end.  There may not be much time, and I really like you and I want to get this _right_!”

Sheena actually _chuckled_.

“You make it sound like the world’s going to end.”

“That’s just it!  It very well might!”

The words burst out before she could stop them.  Pearl felt the colour drain from her face with the sudden chill, hands clasped reflexively over her mouth as if that could take them back.

“Pearl..?”

Sheena’s eyes were too wide, her voice was too soft.

Yellow Diamond had to know that they were still alive now.  She would come, or at least her forces would.  Perhaps Blue and White would come too, and all of their armies.  If not for vengeance against what remained of the Crystal Gems, then for the Cluster, and to exploit what, if anything, remained of the planet if they could force it to emerge. There was no Rose to stand against them this time.  Just Garnet, Amethyst, herself, and Steven.  If they were lucky, perhaps Peridot and Lapis too.

Hardly an imposing force.

Pearl rose, letting go of Sheena’s suddenly unresisting hand.  She needed some space, some kind of action to serve as an outlet for the tension suddenly thrumming through her form.  She found both in pacing in the small area between the coffee table and the television.

“You need to understand that gems, as a species, are not particularly... nice.  In fact,” a nervous laugh forced itself past Pearl’s lips, “we’re actually quite terrible!  Especially if you look at it from the perspective of an organic life-form such as yourself.  We colonise planets, strip them of their resources, make as many new gems as we can and then move on.  Sometimes we make a true colony where gems can live, but most of the time we just leave behind an empty shell. We’ve been doing this for tens of thousands of years, and we’re very good at it!”

Sheena had sat up, sat forward, focusing on Pearl with laser-like intent and even, Pearl thought, a hint of anger.  She wrung her hands together and tried not to shrink away.  This was part of her and her legacy, no matter how much she might wish it wasn’t.

“Your people are going to _destroy_ the _Earth_?”  It wasn’t anger, Pearl realised, but burgeoning betrayal in Sheena’s voice.  “I thought you said you’d fought a war to stop us from being invaded..?”

“Yes.  We fought a war to stop the Earth from being exploited.  What I didn’t tell you was that it was a, well, a _civil_ war.  We fought our own people.  We won,” she hastened to add, “but at a very great cost.  And now we have reason to believe that the Diamond Authority - that is, my people’s rulers - are returning their attention to this planet.  It’s all going to start again, and there aren’t many of us left to stand against them this time.  

”I’m... afraid we’re going to lose,” she admitted.  “Or that, even if we don’t, the Cluster will emerge and destroy the planet anyway.”

“The ‘Cluster’..?”  

“It’s difficult to explain.  For the moment, it might be best for you to think of it as a weapon - a truly _terrible_ weapon - that Yellow Diamond buried deep within the Earth before the end of our war.  We’ve contained it, for now, but we don’t know if we can destroy it, or if we should even try.  If it ever activates, you see, it will tear the planet apart from the inside out.”

“Planet-killing weapons?  The ‘Diamond Authority’?" Sheena's voice had climbed in pitch much as her eyebrows climbed to the height of incredulity.  "This is… This isn’t some kind of big hoax, is it?”  

She stood suddenly, looming over Pearl, hands on her hips.  

“There’d better not be somebody hiding in my closet streaming this to some _tubetube_ reaction channel.”

“... is that something humans do?” Pearl asked, momentarily nonplussed. “But no, there’s no hoax.  I’m telling you the truth.  This planet and everyone on it is in horrible danger.”

Sheena just stared down at her.

“I’m sorry,” Pearl said.  

Sheena continued to stare, and Pearl wanted nothing so much as the ability to crawl back into her gem, then and there.

“I’m sorry,” she tried again.  “I wish it wasn’t the case.”

“Wild.  Just... wild.”  This time Sheena shook her head slowly and ran a hand through her hair.   “You know what, I think I’m going to get a drink.  You want some-  No, never mind.  Just give me a minute.”

She was heading for the kitchen before Pearl could reply, and she could only watch helplessly while Sheena opened and closed a flurry of cupboards, seemingly in search of one particular glass.  When located, she ferried it to the refrigerator, opening the freezer compartment and retrieving ice cubes and a bottle of clear liquid – alcohol of some sort.  Ice and a generous measure of alcohol went into the glass. The ice was returned to the freezer, but the bottle and the full glass accompanied Sheena back to the couch.

Sheena sat, took a deep sip from the glass and looked up at her expectantly.

“Ok.  Why don’t we-“  Her free hand ran through her hair again, catching and working out a tangle.  “Look, can we start at the beginning?  How you guys even knew about Earth?”

“Of- of course.”

It didn’t feel right, anymore, to stand while Sheena sat, but equally sitting beside her again seemed akin to taking liberties Pearl was no longer sure she was entitled to.  She sat on the coffee table instead, between Sheena and the television, folding her hands around each other in her lap.

“Earth was discovered around seven thousand years ago by explorers from our Homeworld,” Pearl began.  “It was flagged as an excellent site for a new colony, positively _bursting_ with resources.  The three established Diamonds - White, Yellow and Blue - met and decided that they would give this new planet to Pink Diamond to control.  Pink was fresh from the remains of Her star, back then, and it was supposed to be Her first true colony.  A learning experience, and the opportunity to grow a retinue befitting a gem of Her cut.”

“So, diamonds are, what, like, gem kings?  Queens?”

Pearl nodded.

“You need to understand that gems aren’t born like humans are.  We are grown. _Made,_ sometimes by the hundreds.  And we’re each made for a specific purpose, and we come into being _resolute_ in it.   Quartzes and Rubies are warriors from the instant they take form.  Sapphires are seers and Emeralds are advisors.  Bismuths are builders.  Peridots are technicians.  Diamonds, though, are the largest, rarest and most powerful gems.  They are made to rule.  Queen is an apt comparison.”

And then Sheena asked the question that Pearl, even without the benefit of future vision, knew that she would:

“So, what are Pearls then?  Scientists?  Inventors?”

Pearl shook her head.

“Artists?  Dancers?”

“No.  Well, sometimes we dance.  But pearls are-”

Her tongue felt thick in her mouth, her form heavy in a way a projection of light shouldn’t be.  She could remember, as clearly as if it had happened only yesterday, stepping free of the warm waters of the Nursery, dazed and confused but full of hope and wonder and determination.  And how it had all come crashing down mere seconds later under the cold, judgmental gaze of the Sinhalite, the heavy, rough hands that propelled her through Grading and into the constant, low-grade mortal terror that was the state and fate of all pearls who survived into service.

_Come.  Stand.  Turn.  Touch your gem.  Speak your designation.  Turn.  Kneel.  Stay still. Stay silent. Wait._

“Pearls are-”

_Shards, another one!. Defective!  This just isn’t good enough, not for White Diamond!  You’d think we could get more than one or two out of each harvest worth our time._

But that was thousands of years ago.  She was a different gem now.  Talking about it shouldn’t be this hard.

“Pearls-”

The problem wasn’t the memories that came along with the talking (though, _stars_ if they weren’t all rushing back, as they always came back, like they had never left her, and the truth was, of course, that they hadn’t, she wondered if they ever would, if she could _forget_ what it had been like, it had been so long ago but it didn't seem that way).  No. It was knowing that, as hard as she had fought and as proud of herself as she was, it only took a few words to tarnish her every achievement, even wipe them all away entirely.  Three little words and the way Sheena regarded her would permanently change.  It had changed how Amethyst saw her.  Steven, as well.  Connie.  Even Greg.

 _You are a just pearl.  A defective one.  You are lucky that She has taken a_ defect _like you in.  You are Hers.  You are nothing without Her.  You are nothing without your Diamond.  Serve Her well.  Love her, and your existence won't be a_ total _waste._

It had been easier with Peridot.  Peridot already knew what pearls were for.  The only place Pearl could go in the green gem’s esteem was up.

 _You are_ nothing.

She took a deep breath and forced the words out.  There was some pride to be had in ensuring that her voice didn’t shake, at least, even if she couldn’t raise her eyes from her hands, fidgeting in her lap.

“Pearls are possessions.”

There was a horrible beat of shocked silence, just as there had been when she’d finally relented and told Amethyst the truth.

“‘Possessions!?’ _Pearl_ -”

Pearl didn’t dare look over to see Sheena’s expression, not when she could hear the incredulity in her voice.  Her eyes would be wide, her lips parted, disbelieving.  Unhappy surprise, perhaps more betrayal.  

Pearl could understand that.  She was not the gem Sheena had thought she was.

“Pearls are unusual gems,” Pearl continued, still unable to look up.  “We’re partially organic and we’re small, weak and relatively fragile.  All of that makes us inferior in the eyes of other gems.  But we’re also somewhat difficult to make correctly, and that gives us a measure of value.”

There, this was getting easier now that the initial admission was done, easy enough that her voice fell into what Steven and Connie called her ‘teacher tone’. _This_ was just gemology.  After spending fruitless centuries helping Rose to try to rehabilitate the less-damaged Beta Kindergarten site, Pearl had a solid grounding in gem manufacture.  The science of it was quite interesting - provided you could overlook the horror behind it all.

“Where all other kinds of gems save Diamonds can be made in a standard Kindergarten - I’ll explain that later - pearls require special conditions to grow.  We need a constant supply of warm, clean water, for one. Preferably salt water, but fresh will do in a pinch, of course.  The organisms that help build our gems require dedicated, professional care.

“And even when the conditions for pearls to form are perfect, the reliance on organic processes for parts of our development means that defects are common.  It’s not unusual for half or more of the pearls in a harvest to be destroyed and reseeded in the hopes of producing fewer baroques, or pearls with greater lustre.  An entire run may be sacrificed to produce a single pearl worthy of serving a Diamond.  This gives those of us who, hah, ‘Make the Grade’ a certain kind of value.

“Gems put a great deal of stock in displays of power, you see, and nothing says ‘power’ like owning something as frivolous but expensive as a pearl.  Pearls are made to order for high ranking gems. No Diamond would be seen without at least one pearl servant, if not ten. Or even a hundred, if you’re White Diamond, anyway.  Lesser gems aspire to own a pearl of their own.  If they perform their duties exceptionally well, they may even get the opportunity.”

That dreadful silence fell again.  Pearl counted twelve seconds before Sheena spoke again.  

“Wait, you’re telling me that somebody used to _own_ you?  You were a _slave_?”

“All gems ultimately belong to their Diamond, in the same way that, in some human feudal societies, everyone is subject to their liege lord.  But all gems other than pearls are permitted at least some degree of autonomy within that structure, so I suppose the term fits.”

“Fuck me.  That’s just… horrible. _Fuck. Me_.”

Pearl finally dared to look up.   Sheena seemed angry but disgusted at the same time, as though someone had just served her a hated or otherwise offensive foodstuff.

Oh.  

Well.  

That was it then.  

 

At least she could tell Garnet in full honesty that she’d tried.

Pearl’s eyes stung, and she let her head fall. The knuckles of her entwined hands were blue, but the sensation of _pressure_ from them seemed distant.

“I’m sorry.”

There was another pause.

“Wait - _you’re_ sorry?  For what?”                         

Sheena sounded so openly surprised that Pearl couldn’t stop herself from looking up again.

“For not being the person you thought I was.”

“What?  Wait.  Oh, no.  No, no, no, I didn’t mean it like _that_.”

Before Pearl could react, the glass, half-filled with alcohol and ice, was on the coffee table beside her, and Sheena was leaning forward to cover Pearl’s hands with one of her own.

“I meant that– _fuck!_  I didn’t mean that _you’re_ horrible for having that happen _to_ you.  I meant that it must’ve been horrible _for_ you.  I’m sorry.  I can’t imagine what that must have been like.”

Her face was open and soft, eyes glinting more brightly than her piercings, and Pearl believed her.

“It was all I knew, back then,” Pearl said quietly.  “And I was far luckier than most.  I was intended to be part of a set made for White Diamond, but my gem, as you can see, is not a perfect sphere.  I would likely have been shattered, powdered and reseeded had my gem not been flawless in all other respects - and had Pink Diamond not just begun collecting baroques.  White made a gift of me to Pink, and I came into service in Her court.”

“You were given to someone who _collected people_ ?  Geeze, it just keeps getting better and better.  How did you get free?”  Sheena paused, suddenly worried, but with an odd edge of anger to her voice.  “You _are_ free now, right?  Those other gems you live with don’t-”

Her hand squeezed Pearl’s tightly.

“What?  Oh no! No.  Nobody has owned me for a very long time,” Pearl was quick to assure her.  “Garnet fought alongside us against Homeworld’s forces.  And Amethyst didn’t emerge until after the war was long over and finds the whole concept distasteful.  They’re... friends.  Good friends.

“As to how I came to be free…”

Pearl couldn’t help her smile, faint as it was.  This was the part of the story she liked best.  Perhaps, if she were being honest, it was the only part of it she liked.

“Pink Diamond decided to gift me to one of Her favourite Quartz generals as a token of Her esteem.  I was terrified.  Quartzes have a reputation for being impatient brutes, and I was certain I’d be shattered the first time I made a mistake, or that she’d quickly tire of me and trade me to a lesser gem.”

“Rose Quartz,” Sheena guessed.

Her hand left Pearl’s to reclaim her beverage, and she sat back against the couch with an expectant air to take another deep sip.  Pearl wasn’t sure what that meant and again found herself unable to completely meet Sheena’s gaze.

“Yes. Rose was different to the other Quartz soldiers I’d met or served.  She was… special.  Kind.  Beautiful, inside and out.”

Even now, warmth suffused her form as she remembered the first time Rose had touched her, tipping Pearl’s chin up so she could look into her eyes, one-

_-one enormous hand held her head, the other reached down to brush the pearl’s fringe away from her forehead and her gem.  the pearl flinched away before she could stop herself and the Quartz released her hold as if stung._

_The enormity of what the pearl had just done, unthinking, washed through her, a flood of horror and shame.  the pearl belonged to this gem now.  The Quartz could do what it wanted with her.  And if her new owner wanted to crush her head, crush her gem to powder, right here, right now, that was her right.  she had no right to flinch away._

_she trembled, waiting for the retribution she was certain was coming.  But instead, the Quartz knelt down before her, so that they were nearly of a height._

_“Please, don’t be frightened,” Rose Quartz whispered, soothing.  “I could never hurt something as beautiful as you.”_

_When the pearl dared to look up to meet her eyes, Rose’s smile was genuine and radiant, her eyes full of stars._

_“And I’ll never touch you again unless you want me to.”_

Pearl dared to look up again, now, and found Sheena lifting the glass back up to her lips.  It was almost empty of liquid when she lowered it again, and Sheena’s expression was empty too, somehow: closed and unreadable.  Sheena knew about Rose - there hadn’t been any way to avoid it, not really - but it always seemed wrong, somehow, to talk to her about specific details of the relationship Pearl and Rose had shared.  That it seemed to make Sheena feel uncomfortable, sometimes, didn’t help.

“Rose was relatively new herself, and had never owned a pearl before,” Pearl pressed on quickly.  “She didn’t quite know what to do with me.  Pearls are generally what you would call ‘body servants’.  We tend to the immediate needs of our owners, ensure that they’re comfortable, that their living spaces are tidy, manage their appointments, run interference between them and other gems they don’t want to talk to, that sort of thing.  The rest of the time we’re expected to be ‘ornamental’.  Sing.  Dance.  Look pretty.  Store their other possessions.  Some gems expect their pearls to do _that_ and nothing more.”

Pearl couldn't stop the disgusted curl of her lip at the thinking.  The centuries of her life spent standing around waiting for orders still rankled.  It wasn’t just the perpetual boredom - all pearls developed means to combat the monotony and isolation or went mad from it and were shattered - but the _waste_ of it all.  She could have done, could have _learned_ so much more.

“Rose had no need for a body servant, and she _liked_ dealing with other gems, so she had no need for my skills in those areas.  In the end, she got sick of me standing around watching her and started to teach me things she thought might help her out in the field.  Things, as it turned out, a ‘lowly pearl’ isn’t supposed to be able to understand, let alone accomplish.  Advanced mathematics.  Astronavigation.  History.  Particle physics.  Supply chain management.  Engineering.  I discovered a talent for machinery - I could strip down and rebuild an engine faster and better than any Peridot!

“We also found that I had a head for military tactics and logistics.  Rose started to listen to my advice, and then started taking me into battle with her. She _cried_ the first time my physical form was destroyed - a Quartz crying over a pearl!  It was unheard of!  And then she started to teach me how to defend myself, and we found I had the makings of a gifted swordsman too.”

Pearl stopped, suddenly aware that, lost to memory’s thrill, she’d leapt up onto the coffee and drawn her spear, attacking some invisible foe.  She lowered it slowly, aware of Sheena’s wide eyes upon her.

“After that, we were inseparable.”

“You fell in love.”

It was an observation, not a question. Pearl nodded, and then sighed, the momentary high crashing back down into a bittersweet ache in her gem.

It was all only memories now.

“Only, well, to be honest, we didn’t really know it was love, at the time.”

She let the spear dissipate and sat back down.  

“Love, on Homeworld, is something that’s supposed to be reserved for your Diamond.  ‘Respect your comrades.  Honour your superiors.  Love your Diamond,’” she repeated the old, old mantra.  “Rose and I only knew that we were better in every way when we were _together_ , and that we wanted to stay that way.

“When Rose was assigned to Earth, to oversee the colonisation effort here, she fell in love all over again.  This planet and every living thing on it _fascinated_ her.  Humans, especially.  And because I loved her, I began to love the Earth too, in a way.  It was the planet where Rose was the happiest I’d ever seen her.  And Earth is the place where I eventually found myself and came into my own.  Not as a possession, but as a _person_.

“But the Diamonds had a plan for the Earth that would lead to its destruction and Rose couldn’t stand idly by while it happened, and I couldn’t possibly have let her face Homeworld alone. We rebelled.”

“What happened?”

“Well, at first, it was all just a grand adventure.  Rose and Pearl - two gems, together against the galaxy!  We’d make the Diamonds see that the Earth was special, at sword-point, if need be.  We quickly gained a fearsome reputation: the unpredictable, infamous Rose Quartz and the terrifying, renegade Pearl.”

She smiled again, at the memories of those first few years, when it was just the two of them, before they’d stumbled upon Garnet.  It was still something utterly _grand_ to remember the shock and fear on the faces of all of those Quartzes as she weaved and sliced her way through them.  Jaspers and Amethysts and Agates and Citrines and more, all big lumbering things bellowing in rage, too slow, too cumbersome and far too unnerved to ever even lay a finger on her.  Rose, at her back, at her side, Rose’s shield standing firm against blows Pearl couldn’t dodge, always there when she needed it, just as Pearl’s swords and spear were there for Rose.  The two of them fighting together in perfect harmony, weaving the steps of an intricate dance only they could ever master, untameable, unstoppable.

“As our legend grew, more and more gems rallied to our cause.  Some had fallen in love with the Earth itself, just like Rose had.  More of them were like me, seeing an opportunity to be free of whatever role and destiny Homeworld had set for them.  It wasn’t long before we had a small army.   We were badly outnumbered - in some battles, it was more than twenty to one - but we made up for it in determination, and our philosophy of equality allowed us to make the best possible use of every gem we had.  And, of course, we were led by one of the most brilliant generals that Homeworld had ever produced.  We started to win.

“Not every battle, of course,” she hastened to add, “but enough that, after almost a thousand years of fighting, we were ready to make a final push to drive the Homeworld forces away for good.  The more rare and aristocratic Homeworld gems simply fled, but there were still thousands in the final battle, the biggest of the entire war.   We fought for _weeks_ , driving them back, step by step, towards the galaxy warp.  But just when our victory seemed assured, the Diamonds unleashed a new and terrible weapon.”

_Rose’s standard snapped and cracked in the wind, then fell limp in the suddenly heavy air.  Pearl stared at it in mute surprise, then out over the battlefield, where arms fell and fusions split and all eyes turned towards the sky and the pinpoint of light that grew brighter by the second._

_“Garnet?” Rose whispered._

_Pearl tore her gaze away from the silent battlefield to look up at her love, her leader, and could have wept at the horror she saw written across plump lips and starry eyes._

_Garnet, though, didn’t look away from the light._

_“Bubble us,” she said.  “Now.”_

“Rebel, loyalist, bystander… It didn’t matter.  It didn’t discriminate. Everything the weapon touched… _changed_.  Organic things - plants, animals, our human allies - shrivelled to dust and died.  Gems of all kinds spontaneously shattered.  The ones that didn’t became... corrupted.  Monsters, driven mad.”

_The air glittered with gem dust, reeked of ash._

_Rose was on her knees.  Weeping.  Gem shards at her feet that refused to mend.  Sapphire was no better. Pearl could hear the muffled sobs. Ruby clung to her with trembling fierceness.  Tears frozen on their cheeks._

_“I should have Seen!”  I should have Seen!"_

_Pearl couldn’t seem to move or think or feel.  She stood, rooted to the spot.  Below, abominations grew and twisted and_ screamed. _Agony.  Desolation._   _Battled one another, tramping gem shards into the dust._

_It was only when one of the monsters, bearing a Jasper’s gem, snuffled and started to shuffle up the hill towards them, ungainly on five legs, that Pearl came back to herself._

_Danger._

_Rose was in danger._

_They were_ all _in danger. Rose and Pearl and Ruby and Sapphire.  But Pearl had to protect_ Rose _.  She had to get Rose somewhere safe.  Somewhere away from here.  Before the gem-things overwhelmed them.  Before the Diamonds could sing their horrible song again.  Before their army recovered and returned._

_Pearl’s mind raced with a kind of cold clarity that might have been frightening at any other time._

_Rose was in terrible danger_ now _.  But surviving today was not enough.  The galaxy warp.  Reinforcements.  They would be overwhelmed.  Rose would be shattered._

_Rose couldn’t do what needed to be done.  Not now. Her shield, perhaps, or a bubble, but aggression?  Beyond her.  Garnet would have been useful.  But Ruby and Sapphire were too upset to re-fuse.  Sapphire wasn’t a fighter.  That left Ruby.  Experienced soldier.  Bodyguard.  With Homeworld conditioning.  Fought an innate tendency to follow any order delivered with enough authority.   Like Pearl, that way._

_Not the only way.  The other was devotion.  The difference, focus: Sapphire, not Rose._

_Pearl would have to do the rest.   Reach the warp pad.  Reach the galaxy warp.  Destroy it.  Return.  Find other survivors.  Bring them back to Rose.  Return to Rose’s side.  Keep her safe._

_Pearl thrust the battle-standard deep into the bare earth of the hillside.  Its tattered edges fluttered in the weak, unnaturally hot breeze.  She took a deep breath, summoned her spear and the voice she’d developed over the centuries to deal with gems who didn’t like to take orders from a mere pearl, even one second in command to Rose Quartz herself._

_“Ruby!” she commanded. “You need to protect Sapphire and Rose!  Get them to the staging camp!”_

_The Jasper-thing shuffled closer. Hissed at them.  A gaping mouth, full of jagged teeth. Ruby didn’t move, give any indication she’d seen it.  Heard it.  Heard Pearl._

_Pearl could feel the first tendrils of dread and despair burst forth from within her, thorny vines that threatened to wrap around her entire physical form from,_ squeezing, _shaking her from gem to toe until she shattered._

_Gem shards everywhere.  Dust.  Glitter in the air._

_It couldn’t all just end here.  Not now.  Not like this._

_Pearl’s voice cracked.  Her eyes watered.  They needed to_ move _._

_“What are you still doing here, soldier?!”_

_She doubled down, squeezing a few extra decibels, an ounce of additional malice from somewhere deep within her gem._

_“I_ ** _gave you an order, Ruby!”_ ** _she roared._ **_“_** _Get_ **_moving_ ** _and_ **_get them back to the staging camp_** _! On the double! Or so help me_ , **_I will shatter you myself!!_ ** ”

_Pearl levelled her spear at the approaching beast.  Her arm trembled as she summoned the willpower and focus to fire an energy bolt.  The shot went wide, but Ruby started back to reality.  And started moving._

”Garnet and I were beside Rose when it happened.  She managed to shield us from the weapon’s effects.  We were the only survivors.  We searched the battlefield end to end a thousand times.  We never found anybody else.  We tried to find ways to cure the corruption and never had much luck there either.”

Oh, _shards_ , she was tearing up again.  And Sheena was staring at her as though she had two heads.  She wasn’t wrong to.  Pearl should have been past all of this.  Rose had managed to put the war and everything behind her, and Garnet seemed to have too. They’d never even needed to talk about it, not really.  It was only poor, pathetic little Pearl, and her… her _blasted_ inability to let anything or anyone go.

_Glitter in the air…_

She sniffed and scrubbed at her cheeks, and straightened her back, trying to reclaim some of her lost dignity.

“In the end, we decided it was safest if we devoted ourselves to capturing them and containing all of the gem artefacts we encountered until we could find a better solution.  We found Amethyst in the abandoned prime kindergarten about five hundred years after the final battle and she joined us. A few decades ago, Rose met Greg and, well, you know how that ended.”

Silence fell, for a time.

“So, those monsters you fight, those are your old friends?”

“Friends, allies, enemies - it’s hard to tell who’s who anymore unless they had a particularly distinctive gem.  They’re not themselves.  I… try not to think about it too much.”

Sheena looked at what remained of her drink, frowned, returned it to the coffee table and then held out her hand to Pearl.

“Come here.”  At Pearl’s look of askance, she added: “You look like you need a hug.  A big one.”

“Oh.  Ok.”

Hugs, in general, were quite nice.  Sheena’s hugs, though, deserved all of the points Pearl had left in her pouch.  With the human’s long legs stretched out along the couch, Pearl found she could curl up quite neatly in her lap, Sheena’s shoulder at exactly the right height for her head to rest against.  And she was _so_ soft and warm, the beating of her heart and the rhythm of her breathing oddly soothing.  Pearl closed her eyes and sighed when a gentle hand ran through her hair, and sighed again when Sheena tipped her head to rest her cheek against Pearl’s forehead, just above her gem.

Pearl tried to relax and empty her mind of anything but the feeling of being held, the sweet and floral scent of Sheena’s shampoo.  

She had never truly been much good at relaxing.  Her mind raced, her fingers itched, her toes tapped when left idle too long.  But it was working today; she could feel all of the tension she’d worked up while trying not to get worked up drain away, a bit at a time.  It was welcome.  More than welcome, really: it was _novel_.  Even with Rose, beautiful, soft, calm Rose, she’d never been able to entirely quiet her mind.  Rose always had too many burdens, and Pearl worried for her.

The thought was almost enough to undo all the slow work of relaxing.  Rose was gone.  Of the thousands who’d rebelled against Homeworld, of the hundreds who’d stood upon that fateful field, only two remained.  And the dreamed-of, longed-for life of After bore little resemblance to what she’d hoped freedom would mean.

Sheena stroked her hair again.

Perhaps it wasn’t the life Pearl would have chosen, given the chance, but at least it was _hers_.  And she had people that she loved to share it with.

It was some time before either one of them spoke again.

“Feel better, Pretty Bird?”

“Yes.  Thank you.”

Pearl pulled away enough to almost sit up, searching Sheena’s face for evidence of what she was thinking, how she was feeling.  This whole painful conversation was intended to be for her benefit, after all.

“What about you?  Are you alright?”

“Me?  I’m fine, fine.”

Human faces could be surprisingly expressive.  Distant eyes and the hint of a furrowed brow, a slight downward quirk of her lips before she recovered and smiled suggested to Pearl that Sheena might be lying.

“You’re not… disturbed?” she prompted.

Sheena sighed heavily, and Pearl found herself being pulled back up against the human again, head tucked up against Sheena’s shoulder and hugged tight.

“Of course I’m _disturbed_ , Pearl,” Sheena said.  Her voice was slightly muffled by Pearl’s hair.  “It’s not exactly every day that you find out your cute alien girlfriend once led an intergalactic rebellion.  Or that more aliens are probably going to try to invade your planet and kill everyone.  If the planet-killing super-weapon they left behind when they got their assess kicked doesn’t do the job first.”

She sounded frustrated and upset, but Pearl couldn’t pull away enough to see Sheena’s expression, not without actually overpowering her and breaking the hold.  And that seemed like it wouldn’t be a productive move.

“I’m sorry-”

“Stop apologising, will you?  It doesn’t sound like any of it’s your fault.”

Pearl winced.

“It is, though.  I was part of the colonisation effort, for a time.  I was even involved in the construction of the first Kindergarten.”

“Did you have a choice about it?”  Sheena asked sharply.  “Back then?”

“I-”

They had all done what they were ordered to do, back then.  To be anything other than absolutely obedient, when you were a pearl, was to risk shattering.  Even powerful rarities like Rose Quartz or Sapphire feared failing to follow a Diamond’s order.  But Pearl had always wondered if things would have been different if they’d been able to break free earlier.  If they’d been daring enough, in the beginning, to do more than the mere dribs and drabs of sabotage they’d annoyed the technicians with.  Realistic enough to realise the other Diamonds, that White and Blue and Yellow could not be reasoned with either, and needed to be shattered too.  Bold enough to strike while surprise was still on their side.  Maybe more gems, more of the Earth could have been saved.

They’d had no way of seeing the future, though, until they’d found Garnet.  They could only muddle along as best as they could, making decisions with the limited intelligence they had at their disposal.  The sacrifices, the mistakes had to be borne.

Would it have been different?  Would it have been _better_?  They wouldn’t have found Garnet if events in the early days of the Rebellion hadn’t played out in the sequence they had.  Without Garnet’s Sight, without her new approach to fusion, they would have lost the war.  If they’d lost, the Earth would have been destroyed completely.  If it hadn’t dragged out for so long, the Beta Kindergarten wouldn’t have been built, and Amethyst would never have been made.

The problem was that, since arriving on Earth, Pearl had rather come to dislike the idea of her life being ruled by fate.

“I suppose not.”  It was her turn to sigh, and she shifted slightly, burrowing her head against Sheena’s neck. “Not really.  No.”

“Then it’s not your fault.”

“It still feels like it,” she admitted softly.

The human’s skin quickly warmed her gem, and Pearl could feel the steady, soothing pulse of her heart.  Sheena tilted her own head, resting her cheek against the top of Pearl’s brow again.

“What’s so bad about these ‘kindergartens’, anyway?”  Sheena asked after a quiet moment.

“You wouldn’t say that if you’d ever seen one,” Pearl replied darkly.

“It’s where your people… make more gems?  Reproduce?”

“Yes.  We - that is gems - don’t reproduce in the same way organic species do.  Anatomically we are completely asexual, and that the physical forms of some gems resemble those of human females is either purely coincidental or a deliberate choice to aid assimilation, depending on the gem.  Our species doesn’t even have a concept of ‘gender’ as you do.

”Most types of gems are made by injecting a seed stone deep into a mineral-rich area of land.  The seed stone then incubates or ‘cooks’ for a time: anywhere between a few decades and several hundred years.  When the incubation period is over, the gem comes to life, takes her first form, and thrusts her way out of the earth.  Pearls and Diamonds are the exceptions to this.  Pearls are made in facilities we call Nurseries.  Diamonds are born of stars.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad so far.  As long as you're not using our sun to make another diamond.”

Pearl shook her head, mindful of not disrupting the comfort of their respective positions too much.

“It's the wrong type.  And the process of growing gems in Kindergartens is _incredibly_ destructive.  Making a gem poisons the earth, and drains some of the, well, the _life_ out of the surrounding area.  Make a hundred gems, and the organic life for miles around will start to sicken and die.  Make a thousand gems, and nothing will ever grow there again.”

“The _Badlands_ ,” Sheena whispered in sudden understanding.

“I believe that’s the current name for the Prime Kindergarten, yes.”

Another lengthy pause.

“Did the – what did you call it?  Diamond-something?”

“Diamond Authority.”

“Right.  Did the, uh, the Diamond Authority do any more damage?  To the planet?”

“Yes.  We did some preliminary terraforming.  Raised the temperature by a few degrees to melt the polar ice caps.  I believe we shifted some continental plates to raise and lower landmasses too.  This caused the large extinction event that I believe has been mistakenly blamed on humanity itself.”

Silence.

“What will they do if they come back?  If they… win?”

“I suppose it depends on whether or not they can activate the Cluster.  If they can, they will use it to destroy the planet utterly, and then others.  If they can’t, I imagine that they’ll simply restart the colonisation process.  Over the course of five to ten thousand years, they’ll hollow the planet out to make more gems and extract every useful resource, and then use it as a staging ground for the next conquest.”

The silence that fell this time went on for far too long.  Long enough that the irregular dripping of the kitchen faucet became noticeable and irritating.  Behind it, Pearl started to recognise other faint sounds made by the building, drifting up from the street below.

Somewhere nearby, a bird sang.

“Sheena-“

“I’m alright.”

This time, Pearl did sit back up.

“You don’t sound ‘alright’,” she said as gently as she could manage.

Sheena didn’t look entirely ‘right’ either.  She seemed pale, and sad, and… small, somehow, and Pearl’s gem ached with the desire to take back everything she had said, or pretend it was all a joke for the benefit of _tubetube_ , or do _something_ that would wipe away the fear hinted at by Sheena’s widened pupils and parted lips.

“It’s… It’s lot to take in, Pearl.  As I said, it’s not every day your girlfriend tells you how the world’s gonna end.” She smiled, but it was still wary.  “Thanks, though.”

“For what?”

“For, you know, _telling_ me.  For being honest.  Anyway, I sure as hell’d rather know about the apocalypse ahead of time than wake up one morning to find out the world’s ending.”

“Are you sure?"

“About that?  Oh yeah.”  Sheena’s smile, this time, was more natural.  “Oh, and that I want to meet this White Diamond chick and punch her fucking teeth in.”

Pearl almost had to laugh at the mental image.  Almost.  Sheena had no idea of the scale, of course, but White was the oldest and tallest of the Diamonds.  Her teeth were probably larger each than Sheena’s fist.

“Sheena, she’s over twenty feet tall.”

“Really?   _Damn_.”  A low whistle followed by a thoughtful pause.  “Guess I’ll need a good ladder then.  A long one.”

Sheena winked and, this time, a titter escaped before Pearl could quite stop it.

“Rest assured that if it comes to that, I’ll be _more_ than happy hold it for you.  Safety first.”

Sheena laughed, and Pearl found herself momentarily transfixed.  Not just by her lips, drawn in a crooked smile, the flash of white teeth, her deep green eyes, the way her colourful hair perfectly framed her face, the way her piercings highlighted her features... but by _epiphany_.  

She had done it.  Pearl had _done it_ , and she was still here, and Sheena was still here, and smiling at her, laughing at something she had said.

Pearl could have been back in space, she felt so light, so suddenly free.  That single, timeless moment of utter perfection and peace she always found when she broke free of a planet’s gravity, burst clear of its atmosphere, killed the hard thruster burn and just _hung_ in low orbit.  Weightless, watching a star or a moon or another planet rise or set over the curved horizon, nothing between her and the wonders of the universe, the endless possibilities of space but her own mind, her own will and her own wits.

“What?”

Sheena wasn’t laughing anymore, but watching Pearl, quizzical but without evidence of worry.  Pearl smiled, and boldly leant in to claim a quick kiss.

“Thank you,” she breathed when they parted.

“For what?”

“For listening.  And… understanding.”

“I’m still working on the understanding part.  Some of all this stuff is pretty out there.  Weird.   _Wild_ . But, well, you know, I’m not huge on conventional.  And I _love_ a challenge.  So if you were worried about me freaking out and bailing on you, you shouldn’t.”

"I'm glad.  And if there's anything that you think might help you understand, please ask.  I'll do my best to answer."

Sheena bit her lip, beside the piercing, and seemed to steel herself for whatever she was about to say next.

“Actually, there is something I’ve been wanting to ask you about.   I think you may have already answered it with the Kindergarten stuff but this is the first time I’ve dated an alien so I figure it pays to be sure-“

She was nervous, again, Pearl realised.  Her question pertained to Kindergartens?  She was blushing, though, just a little bit.  What else had Greg said?

Oh.

“Sex,” Pearl supplied, inordinately proud when she didn’t turn turquoise.

“Yeah.  Sex” The light blush dusting Sheena’s cheeks became a but more pronounced.  “I like sex, and I’ve, um, been thinking a lot lately about having sex.  With you.  But I kinda get the impression that you gems don’t really have it..?”

“You’re right.  We don’t reproduce sexually.  Er.  At all.  

“ _However,”_ she cut in quickly, before Sheena could reply, “I have also been, um, somewhat reliably informed-”  _don’t think about Greg and Rose don’t think about Greg and Rose oh_ shards _too late_ ,” -that, um, _sex_ is, um, as humans would consider it, possible.  Between humans and gems.  With open communication.  And, I suppose, an open mind too.  And probably shape-shifting.”

Her previous pride in approaching the subject like a mature adult – or at least a nearly eight-thousand-year-old gem – vanished and Pearl stumbled to a halt, cheeks flaming, utterly unable to meet Sheena’s eyes.

“Shape-shifting?”

Her gem really was going to combust this time.

“We _are_ anatomically asexual,” she reiterated.  “But we do have a considerable amount of control over our forms, provided we don’t attempt to maintain the changes for too long.  I don’t imagine it would be terribly difficult to difficult to, er, reproduce the, ah, ‘necessary anatomy’. With some practice.”

“ _Shape-shifting_.” Sheena blinked up at her.  “Oh. Well. You know, I think I’m gonna to file that one away as ‘good to know’.  

“But I wouldn’t want you to do something that’d make you uncomfortable,” she added hastily.  “Asexuality’s not a deal-breaker for me.  I mean, I’ve always got my hands and the internet.”

The non-sequitur brought Pearl up short.  Humans could perform self-gratification, but-

“What purpose would the internet serve for sex?” Pearl asked, genuinely curious.  “Isn’t it a repository of your people’s accumulated knowledge?  And apparently innumerable videos of cats?”

Sheena stared at her oddly and then began to laugh again, loud and long.  When she actually started to wheeze from it, tears in the corners of her eyes, Pearl couldn’t help but feel a bit offended.

“Well, if you’re going to be like that about it,” she huffed, “I suppose I’ll have to look for myself.”

Her new phone had access to the internet.  She reached towards where it had ended up, on the coffee table.  Sheena was almost as quick, sitting up to grab Pearl’s wrist before she could fully retrieve the phone.

“No, no, no, Pearl, no!”  

Sheena wiped tears from her eyes with one hand, holding Pearl’s to the coffee table with the other.  Pearl could easily overpower her, if need be, but curiosity stayed her hand.  For the moment.

“Oh _man_.  Ok.  _Phew_! Two things:

“Thing one: _do not_ look for sex, or information about sex, on the internet.  Not yet, anyway.  A lot of the stuff’s misleading and made for dudes, and I really, _really_ don’t want you to freak out because you found some horrible porno.  Or got convinced to go meet a guy from _Daveslist_ who turns out to be an axe murderer with a thing for goats and footbinding.”  She paused.  “Or read some stupid _Astro_ article telling you it’s hot to put doughnuts on your tits.”

“I’m... not sure what half of that means,” Pearl admitted after a moment of trying to puzzle it through.  “And I’m really rather hoping that I misunderstood the rest.”

“Probably not.  But, yeah, stay off the internet for now.  Please.  Thing two: I _mean_ it when I say it’s not a deal-breaker for me if you aren’t into sex.  Just because it might be possible, or I like it, doesn’t mean you have to do it.  Human sex is only fun when everyone involved is enjoying it.”

“Well…. I can’t promise I’ll enjoy it, but I may, um, be willing to try.”

“Pearl-”

“What’s the human saying? ‘Don’t ‘knock’ a thing it until you’ve tried it’?  Or is it shove?”  She blinked, aware she was letting herself get side-tracked.  “At any rate, a large part of it is just _touching_ , isn’t it?  I can see how that might be… nice.”

“Touching’s a big part of it,” Sheena agreed cautiously.  “Kissing is too.  I could be wrong, but you really seem to like that.”

“I do,” Pearl ducked her head, blush back in full force.  

What else was there?  Nudity generally seemed to be involved, but that wasn’t much of an issue. Pearl had seen innumerable humans in various states of dress and undress, and even sexual arousal.  Her own people had a basic concept of nudity, though clothing was a matter of personal preference and allegiance rather than a social or environmental obligation.

And then there was copulatory act itself, of course.

That was where things got tricky.  Even leaving aside the difficulty of simulating the biomechanical and chemical processes, the mere _idea_ of, well, _insertion_ , much less the whole issue of… ‘ _genetic exchange’_ … made her form feel like she was made of static.  

Though that aspect only occurred in humans with male anatomy, didn’t it..?

“What else would be involved?” she asked, uncertain.

“You know how it works, right?  Like, the mechanics and anatomy and stuff..?”

“Yes.  I think so.  Your species used to be a lot less, shall we say, ‘discreet’ about such activities.”

Sheena’s eyebrows raised.

“Ok.  Well then, I think we’d want to keep it pretty vanilla until we knew whether you liked it or not.   So, touching with hands, definitely, and maybe some more stuff with your mouth.  Or mine.  Biting, licking, sucking - that kind of thing.”

“I see,” said Pearl, who didn’t entirely.  

Surely biting would hurt?  Gems didn’t feel pain in the same way as humans, but it was never pleasant to have your form damaged.  And wasn’t vanilla a flavouring agent extracted from the seed pods of an orchid of the same name?  How did that pertain to coitus?

“I need stimulation on my clit to actually get off - climax - but I’d probably want your fingers inside me at some point too, if you’d be up for it.  It always feels always better for me.”

Pearl considered it once she worked out the likely logistics.  On the surface, the idea was not terribly appealing, given what she knew of the human sexual response cycle.  There were _fluids_ involved, for one.  But on the other hand, Pearl _had_ always taken a strange and decidedly un-pearl-like kind of satisfaction in getting utterly filthy in the pursuit of a task or goal.

Though admittedly there was rather _more_ satisfaction to be found in the pursuit of getting clean again afterwards.

But now, now that Pearl was letting herself think about it, _imagine_ it, part of her was oddly warmed by the idea of making Sheena feel _good_.  Having her undivided focus.  Making her heart race, her breath catch, making her sigh Pearl’s name with pleasure while all that gloriously wild hair was fanned out around her head like a halo.

“I think I’d be willing to try that,” she allowed slowly, turquoise once more.  “But I’d like to stress that this is one area where attempts at reciprocity would not be welcome.  Um.  At all.”

“Same as the food thing?”

“Similar, yes.  Just the _idea_ of having something, well, _inside_ _me_ is rather… unpleasant. ”

“Ok, well, easy done, we can avoid that.  And maybe, if you’re comfortable with the basics, we can try a few other things and see if there’s anything that you _do_ like.”

“That sounds… acceptable.”  It then occurred to her that Sheena may have raised the topic as a prelude to attempting to initiate intercourse. “Now..?”

Sheena laughed, but not unkindly, and ruffled her hair.

“Tempting, Pretty Bird, very tempting. But maybe not today.  I think we’ve both got a lot of things to think about.”

Pearl wasn’t entirely certain if she should be relieved or disappointed, and settled for both.  One on hand, it meant more time to research and prepare and consider what she might be willing to try. On the other, she knew herself well enough to know that it also meant more time to research and _stew_.

“Oh.  Ok.”

“Yeah.  So, um, let’s just take it slow, and work up to it.  Build up to it naturally.”

“Alright.  I’ll defer to your judgement.”

“But, you know, I don’t have any other plans for today unless you count maybe doing some grading for my ungrateful undergrads.  If you don’t have anything else on, we could _Interflicks_ and chi- uh, maybe watch some tv and relax for a bit..?”

Pearl glanced down at her phone, still on the coffee table, and noted with surprise that the time, displayed in bright white text, was well past four o’clock.  She hadn’t realised that they’d been talking for so long.

She should go home.  It would be time for Steven’s dinner soon, and then likely a minor battle about what constituted an appropriate bedtimes for a growing boy.  And the stars themselves only knew what kinds of mischief Amethyst and Garnet would get up to unsupervised for much longer.  They always seemed to bring out the worst elements in each other, even when not fused.

On the other hand...

On the other hand, Sheena was warm and soft and seemed quite amicable to the idea of cuddling.  Perhaps they could talk some more, about less weighty (and embarrassing) matters.  And perhaps they could discover some more common interests outside of space and making machines go very, very fast.

“I’d like that,” she said and smiled.  “Very much”

“Great!  Just give me a minute to top up and freshen up.”

Pearl slipped off of her lap to allow her to stand, and then watched as Sheena made her way to the bathroom.  Alone in the room for the first time, Pearl looked it over, finding new details with each pass.  A small collection of DVDs that were in dire need of organisation – alphabetisation by title at the very least, or perhaps by genre and then title?  Would that be better?  There was also what looked like a video game console beneath the tv, though not the same model as they’d given Steven.  Some photos in small frames on the wooden entertainment unit.  A slightly younger Sheena with her arm wrapped around the shoulders of an older, shorter woman with the same nose and chin – likely her mother.  Other humans of various types in various group configurations, some including Sheena, some not.  Her friends, the ones she wanted Pearl to meet.

Perhaps…

Perhaps Sheena could meet Pearl’s family in the near future too.  

Hmm.

Only provided they agreed to behave themselves.

But thinking of which, if Pearl wasn’t going home, just yet, she _should_ probably let the others know that she was safe and well.  Garnet likely already knew that she’d be staying back late, but experience indicated it was unlikely she'd communicated that fact to Steven and Amethyst.

Pearl retrieved her phone from the coffee table and painstakingly typed out a message on the tiny and poorly laid-out keyboard.

_Dear Steven,_

_Please tell Garnet ‘thank you’ for me.  And let Amethyst know that she was right also: I will be home late._

_Kind Regards,_

_Pearl_

She hit send, and was about to put the phone down when it occurred to her that she hadn’t left anything prepared for Steven’s dinner.  Steven could cook for himself, of course, but he was equally likely to use Pearl’s absence as an excuse for pizza, or to allow Amethyst to encourage him into inventing some new and decidedly unhealthy (and disgusting) concoction.

_P.S. Have at least one kind of vegetable with your dinner._

She paused, considering, and added:

_P.P.S. As previously discussed, ketchup is not a vegetable._

_P.P.P.S. Neither is maple syrup._

“Texting the Gems?” Sheena asked.

Pearl almost jumped: she hadn’t noticed Sheena’s return or her apparent detour through the kitchen.

“Yes.  Just letting them know I’ll be late.”

The couch dipped under Sheena’s weight as she sat back down, depositing another full glass and a bag of lime _Chaaaaps_ onto the coffee table, along with her feet.  Her arm wrapped around Pearl’s shoulders.  Pearl obligingly leaned into her side.

“Good plan.  Tell them ‘hi’ for me.”  She retrieved the remote control from where it had evidently fallen, lodged between the cushion and the armrest.  “So, have you ever seen _Scrapyard Battles_ ?  They’ve just uploaded the first four seasons onto _Interflix_ and I think it’d be right up your alley.”

The tv flickered to life, and while Sheena fussed with the channels and settings, Pearl quickly picked out one last message before returning the phone to the coffee table.

_Mystery Girl says ‘hi’.  And I love you too.  Very much. <3 _


End file.
